Fuel tank mounting for tractors



Sept. 2, 1941. c. E. FIZRUDDEN ETAL 2,254,359

FUEL TANK MOUNTING FOR. THACTORS Original Filed May 17, 1939 2Shqets-Sheet 1 Sept. 2, 1941. c. E. FRUDDEN ETAL I 2,254,359

FUEL TANK MOUNTING FOR TRACTORS Y Original Filed May 17; 1939 2Sheets-Shet 2 QMMo/w Q Patented Sept. 2, 1941' poration of Delaware Y onMay 17, 1939, Serial No.

' Original $11M Conrad a. mean and Walter F. Strehlow, Waucllalmenlanlilwankeawisaacorwatosgwissuflznontollliaufactnrlng company.

274,164. 1 Divided and this application February 21, 1940, Serial No.320,105

'12 Claims.

The invention relates to tractors and like vehicles which have a drivingengine of the internal combustion type and a fuel tank installation forsupplying the engine with fuel. The present application is a. divisionof application Serial No. 274,164 filedon May 1'1, 1939, by Conrad E.Frudden and Walter F. Strehlow for Tractor. 1

In tractors of the wheel type as well as of the crawler type the engineand the fuel tank are usually placed in proximity to each other. and thefuel is fed by gravity from the tank to the carburetor of the engine.This manner of storing the fuel and feeding it to the engine isdesirable because it eliminates the need for a fuel pump and for a longpipe connection between the tank and the carburetor. The driver's seatis located, according to accepted practice, at the rear of the tractor,that is, in

" rearwardly spaced relation to the engine, and

it is desirable that the driver's forward range of vision from his seatbe -.obstructed 3 little as possible by the fuel tank and its supportwhich is preferably mounted, at least in part, on the portion of thetractor which extends between theengine and the seat. 7

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved fuel tankinstallation which meets both of' the mentioned requirements, namely,the requirement 'of placing the fuel tank into the specified desirableposition relative to the engine, and the'requirement of: avoiding undueobstruction of the drivers forward range of vision .by the fuel tankand-its support.

In row-crop tractors it is'desirable under certain circumstances thatthe driver's forward range of vision fromitheseat of, the rear of thetractor include a plant rowwhich extends longitudinally of the tractorcentrally between the transversely spaced rear wheels of the tractor,and particularly a substantial portion; of such plant row between thefront and rear ends ofthe tractor. It is) more specific object of theinvention to'proyide an improved fuel tankinstallation for a-row-croptractor which is to aiford vthe mentioned desired of sothat the drivermay see the specified portion .of a central plant row withoutuncomfortably leaning over towards one'side-protherwiseassuming atiringApositionon' the seat.

Another 'object of the invention is to provide an improved fueltank'mounting which aflords an enclosed space for thereception of toolsor other accessories.

a 'A further object of the inventionis to '5afueitankinstallationwhichissimpleand compact in construction,conveniently assembled and v ed, and which may be manufactured atrelatively low costs.

v These and other objects and advantages of tlminvention will beapparent from the following description of a preferredembodiment of theinvention. Referring to the drawings accommovin and forming part of thespecification,

10 and in which like reference characters designate the same or similarparts in the various-views:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a rowecrop tractor, the left rear wheeland-part of the rear axle structure at the left side of the'tractorbeing omitted for a better disclosure of the rear part of the tractor; V

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section-on line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged rear view of a-fuel' tank v bracket shown in Fig.1;

point rearwardly ofand above the tractor.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 5, axially spaced front wheels I and-2 of thetractor are mounted on opposite ends of an upwardly .arched front axle 3which has a central'pivotal connection 4 with aplatc Isecuredtotheforwardendof amotor block I.- Themotor block 6 .forms.part 'of aninternal-combustion engine 1 which is of generally conventional designand therefore requires no detailed description, -the crank shaft 8 ofthe engine being indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 1.

A radiator and shell 9 are supportingly connected with the motor blockby a suitable bracket structure (notshown). and ahood III is supportedat its'forward end on the radiator shell 9.' 40 A bottom opening-of they an oil pan ll.

. A torque tube casing I2 extends rear-warmfromtheinotorblockiandhasarearwardly tapering portion forming-abellhousing which is secured to the. motor block by bolts It. The bellhousmgmergesat its rear with a relatively 1mg tubular. portion of thetorque tube" casing, which is of width transversely of the tractor asshown in Figs. 2;"a r.'i-5. The Y, elongated narrow tubular portionofthe torque.

tnbe' casing is downwardly enlarged at its end as shown in Fig. 1, andthe portion of the -torquetubemsingwhichextendsbetweenthc forward bellousing and the rearward downward enlargement has-a height substantiallymotor block 6 is closed the-side walls of the support 3, is a steeringgear thelegs of the bracket 39 are secured to the'side walls of thesupport by a pair of screws 63 which retain the bracket 39 in such aposition on the wardly of the bracket 39, properly spaced from eachother two additional spacers 35 and 39 are interposedbetween the sidewalls of the sheet metal support 36, the spacer 35 being locatedrearwardly of and in proximity to the bracket 26,

' and the spacer 39' being. located about midway/ between the bracket 39and the bracket 26. The spacers 35 and 39' are secured to the side wallsof the sheet metal support by screws and 60'. respectively, but asdistinguished from the bracket 39 the spacers 35 and 39' are notdirectly secured to or in contactwith the bottom of the fuel tank 26.

A rear wall connecting the side walls of the sheet metal support extendsat a rearwardly and downwardly directed slopebetween the rearmostportion of the fuel tank and a rearward portion of the torque tubecasing l2, the rear wall, like the side walls of the sheet metalsupport, having no direct load bearing contact with -the fuel tank. Theside and rear walls of the sheet metal support are preferably formed inon piece by bending a suitably cutsheet metal blank into U-shape, the,rear wall of the sheet metal supportbeing preferably curved or roundedin con-.

the sheet metal support of the torque tube casing l2 along oppositesides of the'tubular portion of the torque tube casing and'fOl'Wfil'dlYjOVGl the bell housing, and that the sheet metal supportunderlies the entire portion of the fuel tankwhich rearwardly overhangsthe bracket 29. The fuel tank 26 is supported, at a forward portionthereof, on-the seat 33 which .lsof relatively large width transversely.of the tractor and therefore capable of securing the fuel tank againsttilting transversely of the tractor- Tilting movement of the fuel tankonthe seat 30 in fore and aft directions is prevented by the bracket 39connecting the fuel tank with the-sheet metal support 36, the sheetmetal support itself being securedto the. torque tube casing as hasbeen-explainedhereinbefore. The

sheet metal structure and bracket 33 afford a support of relativelynarrow-width transversely of the tractor but are obviouslywell adaptedto prevent rearward 'tilting'of the fuel tank 26on the longitudinally.short'seat 36 of bracket".

- Mounted on .the torque tube casing l2 between casing 42, the vcasing.l2 having upwardly projecting-lugs to which the steering gear casingthese bolts projecting through suitable apertures r with a knuckle arm46 of the steeringlinkage for the front wheels land 2, as shown in Fig.5, by a reach rod 49, and a hand wheel 59 is mount ed atthe rear end ofthe steeringcolumn 40 5 which, at its forward end is mounted in the. Thetractor may be steering gear casing 42. steered in a conventional mannerby manipulation of the hand wheel 50, the hand wheel being connectedwith suitable worm and gear mechanism within the steering'gear casing42. ,The

. steering column 43 is supported rearwardly of the steering gear casing42 on a post 5| which 'is screwed into an opening at the torque tubecasing l2. r

I A channel 52 is welded to the steering column 43 within the spacebetween the side walls of the support 36, the channel 52 serving to holdthe starting crank 4| in the position in which it is shown in Fig. l.The steering gear casing .42

' occupies most of the space between the side walls '0f the support36'at the forward end of the lat- ,ter, and a space for the reception oftools or other accessories is available rearwardly of the steering gearcasing '42 between the side walls of the support 36 and its curved'rearwall connecting the side walls. This space is substantially closed atthe bottom by the torque tube casing l2 and at the top by the bottom ofthe fuel tank 26', and it is accessible through a hole in the 30 leftside wall of the support 36, the hole being fuel tank 26 rearwardly ofthe bracket 28,'b ut" that it also furnishes a storage compartment orreceptacle for tools or other accessories,

The drivers seat at the rear of the tractor comprises arelatively widecushion 54 which is mounted between angle iron beams '55 and 56 securedto the upwardly arched rear axle structure 40 of-the tractor. A driveroperating thetractor may take a position on the seat cushion 54 more 1or less directly behind the steering wheel 53 and, -straddling the rearportion of the torque tube casing II with his legs, -he may rest hisfeet on a tubular beam 51 which extends transversely of the tractorthrough the rearward downward enlargement of the torque tube casing l2..When

the ground ahead of him, which not only affords him a good view of thefield at some'distance 'ahead of the tractor, butalso enables him tofocus his eyes on "a plant on the ground between the frontwheels and toobserve such plant while the. tractor proceeds until the plantdisappears structure. The plant, in order to be within the drivers rangeof vision, does not have O' st nd relatively close to the tread line ofone or the other of the frontwheela: but it nay stand on 0 a ground lineextending longitudinally of the tractor centrally-between the wheels,such a line driver will be ableto observe a plant row'on. line A belowthe en ine I and the torque tube casing l2, and neither the fuel tank 26nor the bracket 23 nor the sheet metal support 36 willinterferein-the'left-side wall of the support 36. The steerwith such visibilityof a plant row'on line A. The

ing gear casing 42 has a side arm-45 whichextends through a squareopeningl 46' in the'left' side wall; of the support-36,.and a steeringarm 41, is secured to a shaftextending through the rearward taper of thefuel tank I; as stated, gradually decreases. the horizontal width of thefuel tank, and the vertical spacing ofthe fuel, tank from the portion ofthe torquetubecasing side 45. The steering 41' is connected of thebellhousing make it possible rear of the I under thecross beam 51. andunder therear aide.

for the driver to look past torque tube casingwhiohinturnisofsuchshapeas topermit lineA. Thesheet metal support I. risesstraightfrom the torquetube casing and has atransconvenient visibility of thementioned portion of verse width not-greater than the narrow elongatedtubular portion of thetorque hibe casinginrearofthebellhousingasshowninrigs. l and 2. Due to this arrangement,the sheet metal support likewise does not interfere with the.

driver's convenient vision of the plants standingon line A belowtheengine 1 and the torque tube casing i2, and-it is notneces'sary for thedriver. in order to observe those, plants, tolean over uncomfortablytowards one side or the other, or

otherwise assume a' tiring position-while driving the tractor.Preferablygthe driver will observe the plant row A bylookingidown at theMt move over towards'the. right a the seat It, so asto entirely at easein observing the plant row: =belcw 'l and torque tube casing II from apoint at the. right sideofavertical'planethroughlinem' In the tractordescribed hereinahove the engine I and the transmission housing II are'connected with each other by. the torque tube casing it without the useofany connecting members such as side channels at opposite sides of thetractor, andthe tractor may, therefore, be termed a trameless typetractor. The term "frameless'" as used in the claims is intended toindicate the absence of a frame,'such as side channels, for connectingthe engine unit and the rear axle structure, but it is not intended toexclude other-frame elements, for instance,-

a' frame for mounting the motor'on the front axle structure and forconnecting the motor unit with thetorque'tube casing. The tractor hereinshown and'described is particularly adapted for work along a singleplant rowas indicated inPig.5wherethe1inesBandCindicateplant rowsatopposite'sides ofthe 9 row A which is straddled by the'tl'actor.

While in the foregoing a preferred embodiment of the invention hasheenshown and described. it shouldbe understood that it is not intended tolimit the invention to the details 0! construction herein shown anddescribed, for

various modifications within the scope of theclaimsmayoccurtopersonsskilledintheart.-

ltisclaimedanddesiredtosecurebyhetters Patent:

l. Afuel tankmountingfor tractors,'comprising a pair of relativelyopposedplate members extending parallelto a vertical planelongitudinallyof the traetonspacingmeansbetweensaid hers:andafueltankhavingaforwardportion supported on said bracket portion anda wardly tapering portion of graduallydiminishinghorisontalwidthsupportinglyeonnectedwith2.Afueitankmountingfortractors,com-

'prising'asheet metalsuwu 'havlndrelativelypposedsidewallsextendingparaileltoa-verplanelongiti'idinallyofthetractoranda rearwallconnectingsaidsidewails,a'bracket having'aporti'onextendingtransverselyofsaid satdsidewallsbeyond atthefcrwald support in'opposite distanding end thereof.a spacing ofsaidfueitankrcarwardiyofsaid housing means.

ture having relatively opposed .walls underlying the entire length ofsaid fuel member between said side walls intermediate said rear wallandsaid bracket portion, and a fuel tank carried on said bracket portionand said spacing member. Y

3. In a tractor having a forward engine unit and housing means enclosingpower transmitting mechanism rearwardly of said engine unit; a fuel tanksupport extending transversely of the tractor rearwardly of said engineunit; a fuel tank mounted on said support and extending from one sidethereof over said housing means in spaced relation thereto; a sheetmetal structure having relatively opposed upstanding side wallsunderlying the entire length of said fuel tank at said one side of saidsupport, and an end wall between said side walls remote from saidsupport: and a supporting connection between said fuel tank and saidsheet metal structure: said end wall and side walls of said sheet metalstructure'having lower edgesadiacent to said housin'g'me'ans and risingtherefrom to form a storage compartment between said fuel tankatsaidonesideofsaidsupmritandanendwail between said side walls remotefrom said support; and a supporting connection between said fuel tankand said sheet metal structure;v said end wall and side walls of saidsheet metal structure having lower edges adiacent to said housing meansand upper edges adjacent to said fuel tank to form a storage compartmentbetween said fuel tank and underlying portions of said 5. In P tractorhaving a forward engine unit and housing means enclosing powertransmitting mechanism rearwardly of said engine unit; a

fuel tank support extending transversely of the tractor rearwardly ofsaid engine imit; a fuel tank mounted on said support'and extending fromone side thereof over said housing means in spaced relation thereto; asheet metal structank at said one side ofsaid end wall between said sidewalls tweensaidfueltankandsaidsheetm ture; saidendwallandsidewalls metalstructure having lower edges adjacent to saidfuel tank to form a'storagecompartment of-said housing'means, and.one of saidsidewallshavinganopeningaifordingaccesstosaidstorage compartment.

6.1natractorhsvingafcrwardensineunit and housing means enclosing powertransmittingmechanismrearwardlyofsaidengineunit;

afcrwardfueltanksupportextendingtrans-'-verselyofthetractorrearwardlyof'said unit: afuei tank molmted on saidsupport and extendlngrearwardlytherefrom ersaid in; means in spacedrelation thereto; metal structure having relatively opposedupsidewallsunderlyingtheentirelength will! a rear wall between said sidewalls at the rear of said fuel tank; and a rearward supportingconnection between said fuel tank and said sheet metal structure; saidside and rear walls of said sheet metal structure having lower edgesadiacent to said housing means and rising therefrom bell housing andtubular housing member in spaced relation .thereto: forward supportingmeansfor said fuel tank; a sheet metal structure having a rear wallextending between said tubular housing member and a rear portion or saidfuel. tank rearwardly of said forward sup porting means, and side wallsextending forward. 1y from said rear wall at opposite sides of saidtubular housing member and over said bell houss,ass,sso

ing, the portions of said side walls extending at n opposite sides ofsaid tubular housing member beingspaced from each other a distance notgreater than the transverse width of said tubular housing member; meanssecuring said side walls to said tubular housing member; and asupporting connection-between said sheet metal structure and said fueltank rearwardly of said forward supporting means. I

8. In a tractor having a forward engine unit.

. a rearwardly tapering bell housing secured to the rear of said engineunit and'an elongated posite sides of said tubular member and over saidball 1101131118; 881d side walls being SD -cod from each other adistance not greater than the transverse width of said; bular housingmember; means securing said, de walls to said tubular housing membertanda supporting connection between said sheet metal structure and said fueltank rearwardly of said forward supporting means.

9. In a tractor having a forward engine unit.arearwardlytaperingbellhousingsecuredto the rear of said engine unit andan elongated tubular housing member extending rearwardly from said bellhousing; a fueltenk having a bottom wall in proximity to the forward endof said bell housing and extending upwardl and rearwatdly over said ballhousing and said tubular housing member, and supporting means for'saidfuel tank including a sheet metal structure forminga rear wall andopposite side walls of astorage compartment between said fuel tank andthe underlying portions'of said bell housing and tubular housing member;said bell homing and tubularhousingmemberformingtbebottomostoregehandsaidbottom ofsaid'fueltankformingaolosure orthe wall . webell housing.

10. In a tractor having a forward engine unit. a rear axle structure. achange speed transmission casing adjacent to said rear axle structureand a body structure between said engine unit and said change speedtransmission casing including a rearwardly tapering bell housingadjacent to said engine unit and a relatively long. narrow tubularextension of the reduced end of said bell housing; a fuel tank arrangedabove said body structure in an elevated position relative to saidengine to permit gravity feed of fuel from said tank to said engine,said fuel tank having a portion of substantial horizontal widthoverlying said bell housing and a rearwardly tapering portion. ofgradually diminishing hori- 'zontal width overlying said tubularextension;

and means for sustaining said fuel tank in said elevated positionincluding a support within the space between said fuel tank and saidbody strucv ture.

ll. In a tractor having a forward engine unit, a, rear axle structure, achange speed transmission casing adjacent to said rear axle structureand a body structure between said engine unit and said change speedtransmission casing including a rearwardly tapering bell housingadjacent to said engine unit and a relatively long, narrow tubularextension of the reduced end of said bell housing: a fuel tank arrangedabove said body structure in an elevated position relative to saidengine to permit gravity feed of fuel from said tank to said engine;said fuel tank having a portion of substantial horizontal widthoverlying said bell housing and a rearwardly tapering portionofgradually diminishing horizontal width overlying said tubularextension;

and forward and rearward supporting means for sustaining said fuel tankin said elevated position, said rearward supporting .means being mountedon said'tubular extension and extending upwardly therefrom intosupporting engagement with said rearwardly tapering portion of said fueltank. v

' 12. In a tractor having a forward engine unit. a rear axle'structure,a change speed transmission casing adjacent to said rear axle structureand a body structure between said engine unit and said change speedtransmission casing including a rearwardly tapering bell housing aiflacent to said engine unit and a relatively long,- narrow tubularextension of the reduced end of said bell housing; a fuel tank arrangedabove said body structure in an elevated position-relative to saidengine to permit gravity feed of fuelfromsaidtanktosaidenlinasaidfueltank having a portion ofsubstantialhorizontal width overlying said bell housing and a rearwardly taperinsportion of gradually diminishing horlsontal width overlying said tubularextension; a supporting bracket for said fuel tank adjacent to saidengine unit having a rearwardly extending portion overlying said bellhousing, means securing said-fuel tank portion of substantial horizontalwidth to said rearwardly extending portion of said bracket. and means.supportingly connecting said rearwardly tapering portion of said fueltank with said tubular extensionoi.

comp a. murmur. arm r. s'rannnowi'

